Shopping ‘ infrequently’ during lockdown

Been once since lockdown but now shielding, so lots of lovely friends, neighbours and family keeping me supplied.

Found a website for a London company that used to deliver fruit end vegetables to restaurants, obviously now cannot so are delivering to individual customers, it was beautiful quality. Also buying for delivery from the local butchers, again good. Do a grocery shop online once a month. The large supermarket will survive, so I like to think that ordering what I can from local small businesses will help them too.

In the last month I've been to two supermarkets, once for 6 bags of shopping by DD's car, once for 2 bags by bus. .Village store three times for 1 bag, (steep hill to walk up). Just me & DH to shop for, he's frail & doesn't go out. We've always had a milkman deliver & I'm very grateful to still have that service....wish he delivered wine as well!

I think I'm lucky, my small supermarket follows the guidelines to the letter. We queue six feet apart quite patiently and only three people are allowed in at a time which means you get an aisle to yourself! Both the small fishmonger and butcher only let one person in the shop at a time. So, I could go out once a day really, but I actually go once a week to try to follow government advice. If course, I live in a small town and as of last night there are no cases of the virus reported...

I have been shopping in village shop once a week. I did manage to get a click and collect last week which meant I could stock my little freezer. Veg and fruit I will continue to buy in the village shop once a week.

I have shopped twice since lockdown, having tried without success to get a delivery slot, no problems queuing to get into the shop, but a free-for-all once inside as if people assumed that once inside they are safe.

My husband goes to the supermarket once a week and only gets what we need.

Also meant to say when queueing at Tesco, the staff cleaning trolleys and monitoring one in at a time etc. said that they see the same people in the queue at 7.30 every day, and they also then come shopping again same day, often three times in one day.

So I don’t feel too bad about my weekly shop.

I don't drive or live near a big supermarket so, once every ten days or so, I walk ten minutes to a local Tesco Extra and then lug my shopping back up the hill, which certainly stops me buying unneccesay stuff. I go early in the morning and there is usually nobody else around so social distancing in the aisles is not a problem and they have everything I need. Shop local, people, if you can!

(I should add that we’re ‘Shielding’ so no nipping out for a top up.)

I shop in Sainsbury's once a week but DH pops out to Morrison's which is nearer if we run out of anything plus we shop for a neighbour ( who moans every time that we can't get him Organic everything at the moment. I could cheerfully strangle him at times- if they had Organic I'd obviously buy it for him!!)
Enjoying making own bread even though we don't need to as there is plenty in the shops.

Managed to get a Tesco delivery ten days ago and the next is due 2 May. I couldn’t get a slot before then. Had a local meat delivery (and, bless him, he bought some milk for us) and am having a second delivery from the greengrocer tomorrow. That’s in the last four weeks. We should be ok now until the Tesco order comes. It’s all a bit random.

Went shopping 2 weeks ago. People wasn't social distancing once in the shop. So I got quite worried. My son done my shopping last week. This week got a delivery slot. It is frustrating that some people are not distancing whilst out. Ie looking down at their phones not looking where they are walking. Twice last week I had to walk in middle of road as people walking behind me got quite close. Although I'm not a confrontational person I did say something not very nice to them.

My husband shops for food once a week at Sainsbury's on a Friday at 8 am in their slot for the elderly and we are both over 70 and in reasonable health although he is diabetic and has some COPD. It takes him 10 mins to drive there instead of the usual 25 mins in traffic. We tried to get an online slot but even though we had used it in the past they said nothing was available unless we had received the NHS letter saying we were elderly and vulnerable. He wears throw away plastic gloves that I had kept for changing baby grandson nappies and a mask he used for DIY. We use a local butcher.

NotSpaghetti

I have had e mails from both Sainsbury’s and Tescos asking for you to shop in store if you can do so safely, as they just cannot meet all requested online deliveries.

So by going in myself, I hope I am freeing up delivery slots for the more elderly and vulnerable.

There are other shops besides supermarkets as another poster said, but in our little market town, there are very few open.

And all the volunteers who are shopping for those self isolating are having to brave the supermarkets and shops.

I go once a week to a supermarket in the nearest town (about a 15 minute drive). There is a choice of about 7 large supermarkets there. The day before I ask both my daughters (who have young children) and three people from our village who are in their 80s what they need and do separate shopping lists for everyone. (The people in their 80s I made contact with via our village Facebook Covid 19 Mutual Aid Group.) I then go and deliver it all, having a lovely social distancing chat to each person/family as I do so. Next I go home to unpack our stuff and then work out how much everybody owes me so that I can message them and they can bank transfer the money to me. This takes up pretty much a whole day every week but it’s great as my husband is now working 12 hour days and I gave up work at Christmas to look after my grandchildren and now I can only see them from a distance or via FaceTime. One of my daughters and her husband have been furloughed and my other daughter and her husband are working from home so I only tend to pick up a few bits for them that they haven’t been able to get. This saves them going to more than one supermarket when they do their weekly shop. I feel that I’m helping people too.

dragonfly.. me too. I have to try to gauge my one weekly online order so I think I have a bit more food in the cupboard than I would have had previously,, I am used to popping up to the local shop, 2/3 times a week, for company , something to do... yes, sad.. but I am elderly, (deep sigh) just beginning to feel my age now... with this lockdown...

and then when order given, not sure if all items will be delivered, .. so it is not easy...not to over order

I shop at a big Tesco once a fortnight. If I need more milk I can top up at local shop. Have deliberately not ordered online as I don't want to use a slot which someone with more needs can use. Have managed to get most things and have used 'things in the cupboard', which had been gathering dust.

Bearing in mind the purpose of the lockdown, I would say it means, go to buy food as little as you can. So when you need to buy...go and do it.....if you don’t, don’t. It’s surprising how many people just shop for the ‘fun’ of it, and obviously it’s being discouraged. I wouldn’t let food run out where you can’t eat properly but just go and get it when you’re low. If everyone had done this from the start, there wouldn’t have been the shortages we’ve seen, I'm sure. There is no need to stockpile.

Once a week shopping by me, by car, to Booths, a local (northern) "supermarket". For years we've had our milk (in glass bottles!) & eggs delivered by the milkman, also a weekly veg-box delivered from the local farm shop, so these are a real boon at this time.

We can endorse local shops delivery whilst self isolating we found several small independent shops very happy to deliver, including a fish shop with wonderful handmade frozen fish pies, as well as a very efficient small independent supermarket. Absolutely wonderful in our time of need, no slots with larger well known ones.

Hopefully we will receive our first online delivery at the beginning of May, if it had not been for my freezer and well stocked cupboards we would have starved by now.
Who would have thought, in this day and age, that we would struggle to receive supplies.

Couldn't get anywhere with the Supermarket deliveries, so went on line and found local and not so local food suppliers and have been using them. Very occasional bottle of milk from the local newsagent when I have my daily walk.

We had lent DS2 our car for 3 weeks before all this happened. Was getting very short of store cupboard goods. Could have cried (in fact did) when confronted by empty shop. There are no local supermarkets round here, so have to take the car. Go once a week. Farm shop on foot once a week too. Managing despite very limited stock.

I am using my local shop for bits and pieces and we are eating our way through the food cupboard and freezer although I did visit our local butcher and stocked up for a month. But what this has taught me is that I buy far too much food. We don't need it all and we have used stuff in the back of the cupboard that has been there quite a while!

I managed to get a Tesco delivery for three weeks time but I think I will be changing my shopping habits and using more local businesses. Then perhaps a large delivery once a month.